Upon Thin Ice
by Seaside Fantasies
Summary: Various drabbles about the Snow Queen of Arendelle, dealing with her childhood and beyond. Spoilers for movie may be included.


**AN:** So...I might have seen Frozen a few weeks ago and kind of liked it. And then potential plot bunnies about Elsa would not get out of my brain, so...this happened.

A warning to anyone who reads: This fanfic is probably going to be **VERY** angsty for a while, simply because it mostly follows the plot-line of the movie (with a few bits of creative license thrown in on my part). So if that's not your cup of tea or whatever, it would probably be best to leave while the story is still at least somewhat happy...no? Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you. And do leave nice reviews if you end up liking it. Now let's go!

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><p>The kingdom of Arendelle.<p>

It could be widely agreed upon that Arendelle was indeed a special sort of kingdom. Situated upon an island in the middle of a glittering fjord, surrounded by mighty pine forests and icy mountains, the scene around the castle was one of majestic beauty. Temperate in climate for the most part, it managed to stay relatively warm throughout the year, though of course cold air cycling down from the mountains could make for chillier winters. Its strategic placing made it a large and important shipping route, exporting large amounts of pelts (courtesy of the forest nearby), wood, and several other building materials. Everyone could agree that it was a place full of magic and light…for more reasons than one.

One could go on and on about the rulers of the kingdom- fair King Richard and Queen Selene, whose benevolent rule had kept Arendelle safe and prosperous for many years. Despite the rumors about them having married at a much earlier age than most rulers, they managed to work well together, ruling over their lands with a sort of stern kindness that was to be expected from truly great rulers. Richard's calm handling of military affairs was to be praised as well, as his level-headedness and willingness to make compromises in the face of danger had kept Arendelle out of quite a few wars over the years. But as elegant and magnificent as both of the rulers were, they were not whispered about nearly as much as their eldest daughter.

Elsa, her name was. With hair as white as freshly-fallen snow and with all the radiance and elegance that her mother held, people couldn't help but fawn over her and expect that she would grow to be a great ruler when the time came. Yet there were still whispers to the contrary, no matter how hard the king and queen tried to prevent them. People were quick to jump to conclusions about her white hair and her almost unnaturally pale skin, believing them to be bad omens or some other such nonsense. And the girl was reclusive, too. It seemed as though the young heir preferred to stay as far away from social conversation as possible- it wasn't that she was antisocial, far from it in fact, but the fact was that perhaps she was a bit _too_ sophisticated for one so young (or as sophisticated as a three-year-old child could get, in any case), and it tended to make people shy away from trying to have a decent conversation with her.

And there was another reason too, one that only her parents and a few select servants knew about.

It had all started when Elsa had been annoyed over some change in her room- for even at a young age the girl had shown signs of minor perfectionism- and had stomped her foot onto the ground in a fit of childish anger.

The entire floor had erupted into icy yellow spikes.

Only the King and Queen had managed to see her powers, but they were still alarmed all the same. As much as they encouraged their daughter to be her own unique individual, they had to consider the repercussions of the kingdom finding out that she had the ability to control ice. There were those out there who would jump at any opportunity they could get to take advantage of her powers, after all. And then there was another, more disturbing thought- what if someone thought her powers were the product of witchcraft, what if they tried to persecute her, _hurt_ her? Or worse, what if _she_ unknowingly managed to hurt one of Arendelle's citizens? As far as they knew, her magic hadn't quite reached its full power yet, but in the event that it did…

And so her father was forced to tell her about her powers, and that she had most likely been born with them (as the king tended to view any mentions of magic with a healthy amount of skepticism, and the family did not recall having any previous dealings with it that may have led to this). He warned her that it would be best to practice her magic indoors and away from prying eyes for the time being, and tried to gently break the news to her that there were those out there who would not understand her powers, and would think them dangerous.

And Elsa seemed to take her father's words to heart, as any young child would. She began to grow a bit more reclusive, not yet knowing how her powers were controlled or even what had happened to bring them out. She was scared of letting them out, scared of hurting someone. So she kept to herself for most of her early years, careful to try and keep her emotions in check and to use her power as little as possible- for at this stage, it was quick to weaken her when it was brought out quickly or in great amounts. Of course, that didn't stop small incidents from happening. A few close servants who the King and Queen felt could be trusted with the information would try to get close to her, and she'd lash out with her powers out of fear and frustration. Though the worst she could do at such a young age was to pelt someone with a few poorly-made snowballs, she was still alarmed at her predicament nevertheless.

At least until Anna came along.

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><p>Anna was born a month or two after her latest incident, and from the very beginning the palace staff could tell that she was the polar opposite of her calm and sophisticated sister. If something wasn't to her liking, she wouldn't hesitate to tell the whole kingdom about it through her ear-splitting cries. She was fussy, she didn't sleep soundly. She had about every issue that a young infant could possibly have, and whether they wanted to admit it or not the castle staff was at their wit's end trying to pander to her growing needs. Even her parents were beginning to grow a bit exhausted after so many sleepless nights, as much as they longed to keep their youngest daughter happy.<p>

But it seemed that help would come from the most unexpected of places.

Elsa had been sleeping soundly in her room when yet another ear-splitting cry cut through her sleep, causing her body to shoot up and stiffen out of instinctive reflex, a small flurry of snowflakes whirling around her as she did so. Trying to stifle her panic as well as she could, the young heir sat up in bed, groaning softly as she pushed her white hair out of her face and rubbed at her eyes. Quite frankly, she wasn't adjusting well to the family's newest addition either. She'd gotten less sleep in the last few nights than what was probably healthy for someone of her age, and then there was the fact that Mama and Papa weren't around to help her try and control her powers. But she supposed she had to thank her little sister to some degree. After all, at least her fussiness kept the focus off of Elsa and her stupid, _freakish_ powers….

Another cry rang out, and as much as Elsa would have liked to slip under the covers and try to tune the noise out to the best of her abilities, she couldn't just ignore the cries of her baby sister. So she quietly slipped out of her bed and crept down the hallway, a thin trail of frost following her as she went. Peering into the slightly ajar doorway, she noticed both the castle staff and her parents swarming around the young child, trying to see if there was anything they could do to help. Standing by the door for a minute, Elsa inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to muster up enough nerve to go in and ask what she could do to help. She didn't want them to think that she was going to hurt the baby with her magic, after all.

After a few moments, she quietly slipped into the room, trying her best to ignore the shocked and questioning glances that were directed her way. She paused for a moment, trying to hold her head high and pretend that their stares didn't affect her while she shyly gazed into her father's eyes. "Mama, Papa….I just….I heard the noise, and I wanted to help…." Her voice trailed off then, wondering what else she could say while trying to regulate her breathing. She already didn't do very well in large groups, the last thing she wanted was to have a full-blown panic attack and make ice go everywhere again-

"It's quite all right, Elsa. Here, come and say hello to your new sister." The King beckoned her over then, trying his best to stifle the exhausted yawn that was threatening to build in his throat while his wife shot him a concerned look.

"Darling, do you really think it's wise to have her around Anna? Especially after her-"

"She'll be fine, Selene." Her father's voice cut into the conversation, and Elsa noticed that it had developed a bit more of a harsher tone than he had been using a moment before. She watched as he glanced up to the servants that were gathered there, waving his hand slightly as a method of dismissal. "Leave us. We will call if any of you are needed."

The staff muttered amongst themselves for a moment, clearly not feeling comfortable about leaving the baby and her parents in such a state- and some of them even cast concerned looks in Elsa's direction- but after a brief and rather tense moment they all quietly filed out of the room, leaving the small family to their own devices.

Elsa let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as the last of the staff left, glancing over to the crib and walking up alongside it. Hoisting herself up onto the small sitting bench that was next to the small bed, she gazed down at little Anna uncertainly, trying not to wince as the infant's cries continued to resound around the room. What were you supposed to do with infants who were crying again?

"H-hey," she greeted softly. "I'm your sister. Princess Elsa. It's, umm….nice to meet you…." She stopped for a moment, silently wondering to herself how something that small could possibly make so much noise, before continuing on. "I hope you like it here. Arendelle's very pretty…..you'll get a chance to see it someday. Aww, c'mon, you should be smiling about that. D-don't cry…."

She broke off, furrowing her eyebrows in concentration. A thought had occurred to her, suddenly, though she wasn't exactly sure if it would work or not. They _did_ say distraction was the best way to try and stop an infant from crying, right? Or so she'd heard some of the staff say, anyway, but she figured something was better than nothing. So Elsa stood back, gently beginning to swirl her hands in a circular motion while blue pinpricks of light danced between her fingertips.

She continued until the shape within her fingers resembled a crudely-made snowball, and she exhaled quietly out of nervousness before casting the shape up towards the ceiling, where it vaporized and left tiny particles of snow drifting downwards. Anna seemed to instantly stop crying then, gazing up at the ceiling with childish awe before cooing and stretching a tiny hand out to catch one of the miniscule snowflakes. Elsa smiled, watching as Anna tried to catch the particles and cried out as one touched down on her tiny nose.

"Careful, it's cold," she warned, shaking her head while her parents chuckled in the background. She gazed down at the baby with sudden dawning comprehension then. No one had shown _awe _towards her powers yet. Yet her little sister- her tiny, delicate little sister-had. Could it be that her powers weren't as strange and dangerous as she made them out to be? It would certainly be a nice change to have someone appreciate her powers, and want to see more of them.

Elsa gave a small start as Anna suddenly wrapped her tiny hand around one of her fingers, squeezing it and cooing with a childish smile upon her face. And in that moment, Elsa knew that she would love nothing more than to be Anna's sister and protector, a great wave of love and protectiveness washing over her. She squeezed the baby's hand right back, whispering softly to her sister.

"But don't worry about the cold. I'll be right here to protect you from it, and everything else….and I swear, I will _always _be there for you."

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><p><strong>AN #2: <strong>So, a few explanation thingies about this chapter. I really thought that Arendelle would be a mostly wood and other building materials city when it came to trade, though if anyone has more stuff to add just let me know in a review or what have you. Annnddd I think it would be kind of temperate there? Though from what I understand the HCA tale was set in Sweden or somewhere around there, so I'm not quite sure how the climate would be there. It certainly seems pleasant enough for people to be running around in dresses and everything during the summer.

Also, I think it's stated somewhere (probably TVtropes) that Elsa probably would have been around three years of age when Anna was born, or just slightly over. Maybe nearing four, I'm not sure. Though now I'm paranoid that I made her just a bit too formal-sounding for a three-year-old, though my personal headcanon was that when her powers were first revealed she was unsure of how to control them and was kind of reserved until Anna came alone and brought out her more playful side.

(Also please ignore the King and Queen's names not being in Swedish or...something along those lines as I was getting name suggestions from friends so hrrrkk don't hate me.) And I feel like this chapter could have been a bit less rambly, but at this point I'm too lazy to try and revise it so yah. Now for mentions!

Thanks to my roleplay friends: River for helping me come up with a name for this thing, and to Panto and Tusca for showing such interest in it! Hope you guys like it, if you read it!


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